The vote on expanding the playoff field from 12 teams to 14 — thus leaving a bye for just the top seed in each conference — has previously been deferred, as the NFL wanted to do all the bargaining in advance and not have to make any late concessions to the players. There are several changes the players could ask for to offset the two extra playoff games being added.

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The quo for the quid could include, for example, one less week of preseason games for all players. It’s no secret that the NFL would expand the playoffs to offset the revenue lost by giving up the fourth week of preseason games that Roger Goodell despises. Since the players benefit from that, it makes sense to offer giving up a week of preseason games as the concession to expanding the playoffs.

The league also could dangle smaller inducements, like getting rid of overtime in the preseason. On the agenda for last month’s league meetings, the league wisely tabled the move to make overtime irrelevant for four weeks of exhibition. Since it can be used as something that benefits players by reducing their exposure to live contact, it shouldn’t be done unilaterally.